Formative vs. Summative Assessment: What's the Difference?

 Posted June 03, 2015 by Tracy Derrell in  Education Degrees

Formative and summative assessments are among the most common types of
educational evaluations, each with its own distinct purpose. Though the word
"assessment" often conjures images of paper-and-pencil exams, our
understanding of this topic has evolved greatly in recent years, along with our
reasons for assessing and the types of assessments we give our students. Each
type of evaluation has a specialized purpose. Read on to learn more about
formative vs. summative assessments.

Formative assessments provide both students and teachers with the information

they need to improve the learning process while it's happening. The goal of a
formative assessment is to monitor progress toward a goal or objective,
providing information in an expedient manner which allows both teachers and
students to respond to the academic needs of the students. While we usually
think of tests and evaluations being scored with a letter or number, formative
assessments provide students with feedback rather than a grade.

We hear a lot about "high stakes" assessments, but formative assessments are
quite the opposite. Unlike traditional tests, these aren't just pencil-and-paper
products. Completing the assessment is just one part of the process. A true
formative assessment includes an opportunity for both student and teacher to
examine the results and use those results to inform future instruction.

Examples of formative assessments include:

 A brief written summary of a lecture or lesson

 Student-teacher conferences
 A completed graphic organizer, such as a Venn diagram
 A quiz, which can be scored by the student or teacher

What, then, is the difference between formative and summative assessments?

Summative assessments are generally administered at the end of a unit or

course. Unlike formative assessments, which may occur several times during a
course or unit, summative assessments occur only a few times over the course
of the academic year. A common goal of this type of evaluation is to measure the
mastery of learning standards. Unlike formative assessments, which emphasize
feedback, summative assessments always yield a specific grade.

Because they are broader in scope and measure learning over a longer time
period, summative assessments tend to have higher stakes. While formative
assessments can take on a wide variety of formats, summative assessments
tend to feature a narrower range of question types, such as multiple choice,
short answer and essay.

Examples of summative assessments include:

 End of term or semester final exams

 End of unit or chapter tests
 Benchmark assessments which measure mastery of a standard
 State exams

These two types of educational evaluation have significant differences, but there
are some similarities when looking at formative vs. summative assessments.
Both formative and summative evaluations require careful thought and planning
about what knowledge or skills are being measured. And each type of evaluation
collects useful, important information which fulfills a very specific purpose. A
strong assessment program, whether it's classroom-based, school-wide, or
district-wide, will include both kinds of assessment.
The Difference Between Formative and Summative
Mathematics Assessment
Student Assessment Tools & Principles / By Susan Carter / Teaching Methods, Tools &
Strategies

Some of us may have grown up dreading traditional Math Tests. If we got mostly
right answers, we felt like we were good at math, and if we got mostly wrong
answers, well maybe mathematics wasn’t for us. We may have memories of
finishing a unit in math and taking a timed computation test. Afterwards, we felt
relieved to be finished and fairly confident that the topic would not come up
again. Good news! Times have changed.

Assessment is an ongoing and integral part of math instruction that enhances

both teaching and learning math. Teachers give students opportunities to show
what they know through varied and frequent assessments. Giving various types
of mathematics assessments gives teachers a clearer picture of how their
students are progressing. It also allows the teacher to adjust for the needs of
different types of learners.

Assessment for the purpose of “forming" or guiding instruction is called

formative assessment. Assessment for the purpose of judging a student’s
mastery of concepts is called summative assessment. Both are essential
components of effective assessment and best practices in teaching.

Formative Assessment
Teachers assess their students in a variety of ways for a variety of
reasons. In today’s math class, assessment is a key component of
daily practice. Not all assessment is in search of a letter or number
grade for the sole purpose of reporting student achievement (or lack
there of). Teachers use formative assessment to determine what their
students know already and what they need to know. Students can also
use assessment to become aware of their own progress and areas of
strength. They have access to rubrics and scoring guides that help to
shape learning. Teachers use information about their students’ prior
knowledge to help plan relevant lessons. Information gained from
assessment is used to monitor student progress, inform p Teachers
can assess students accurately if they can understand how a student
arrived at their solution. Students should have opportunities to
express their mathematical ideas both orally and in writing. When a
student is asked for a written explanation, it often helps the student
clarify his or her thinking. A written explanation requires effort and
editing on the part of the student. It is a window into a student’s
thinking and gives the teacher a more exact understanding of their
mathematical progress. Types of formative assessments include
conversation, observation, journal writing, self-assessment and daily
work. arents of student achievement, and plan instruction.

Summative Assessment
Summative assessment is used to determine what students know
about mathematics content and problem solving. Tests and quizzes
tell the teacher if students can apply procedures and perform
computations accurately. Standardized tests provide data about
student performance in relation to other students. A standardized test
is administered under the same conditions and scored in the same
manner for all students. There is usually only one right answer. In
order to get an accurate score, the directions and time limit must be
the same for all students. Standardized tests allow comparisons to be
made among students taking the test. These scores can also help
schools and districts see patterns and make changes to improve
student achievement over time.

Constructed response or performance tasks can help show students

capacity to apply information in new situations. These types of
assessments are an important component in determining what
students know and what they need to learn in mathematics. It is
important for teachers to understand how to analyze and apply results
of standardized test scores in a classroom so that they can make the
most of instructional time.